Colouring in the Darkness
by Abe Lincoln Lover
Summary: A collection of four poems and a short story which reveal the raw feelings of the characters of The Giver.
1. Elegy: Jonas

I would like to show you the past.

But I would not want you to see war.

I wish that there were colours.

I wish that we had rainbows.

You would have seen the beauty of the world.


	2. Biopoem: The Giver

Giver

Wise, Thoughtful, Intelligent, and Kind.

Lover of Rosemary, Jonas, and music.

Who feels pain, hardship, and stress.

Who needs comfort, relief, and someone to talk to.

Who fears failure, loss, and the possibility that nothing can change

Who gives courage, guidance, and love.

Who would like to see a world with choices, colours, and differences.

Resident of the Community

Receiver of Memory


	3. I Am: Rosemary

I am Rosemary

I wonder why I was selected

I hear bullets whizzing through the air

I want to reach out and stop the war

I am haunted by those memories

I pretend I'm fine when I come back to reality

I feel my spirit break with every second of this training

I touch my hand to my heart as it throbs

I worry that I won't be able to handle it

I cry myself to sleep each night

I am the Receiver of Memory

I understand that I have to take on this burden

I say that I'm 'okay'

I dream nothing but nightmares in actuality

I try my hardest to be brave

I hope one day I will have the courage, but on top of everything;

I am still Rosemary


	4. Poem For Two Voices: Jonas and Fiona

Fiona in bold font

Jonas in regular font

Shared words in italic font

* * *

"Poem for Two Voices"

Jonas / **Fiona**

I am Jonas / **I am Fiona**

I have the memories / **I have the syringe**

I know how horrid Release is / **I Release the Old without batting an eyelash**

000

She goes to her job / **He goes to his job**

I know what she's up to / **I don't know what he's doing**

I wish I didn't know / **I wish he would tell me**

000

_Here we are, talking about life_

_There's nothing we can do about it_

_This life was planned out long ago_

_Back and back and back..._


	5. Story

Jonas watched as a comely girl with long red hair blew out eighteen lit candles that were positioned on top of a pink frosted cake. Beside the table there were stacks of packages with designs and bows on them, and surrounding them were levitating spheres, held only to the ground by a string, called _balloons_.

The mass of people around him cheered with excitement and mobbed around her, everyone trying to hug her at once. After a few minutes, when everyone was finished hugging her, she began to open the boxes – called "_presents"_, Jonas noted.

Tearing open the presents, she discarded the protective covering on it – which was called _wrapping paper_ – and squealed with joy. Leaning over to hug the person who had given her the gift, she smiled, "Thanks, Adriane!"

Numerous gifts were opened, and each time the _birthday girl _thanked the person who had given her the gift. A boy named Harold gave her an expensive pocket watch; the _hat_ she was now wearing had been given by Kenan; cute _earrings_ that Kelly had given her were currently in use.

As the last gift's owner was pulled into an embrace, Jonas felt himself coming back to reality. Blinking open his eyes, he stared in wonder at the Giver.

"Why did those people give that girl those items?"

"Sit up, Jonas. We're done for the day," Jonas sat up as the Giver continued. "What you just experienced was a birthday party. The girl was receiving those presents since it was a tradition to do so."

"Why?"

"Even with all my memories, I don't understand why."

"What is a 'birthday'? The word kept coming up and I didn't understand what it was."

The Giver sighed, as he usually did before a long explanation. "A birthday is a day which people used to celebrate, which marked the yearly anniversary of a person's birth. On that day, that person would receive gifts and cards which told them to 'have a happy birthday'."

"That's ridiculous!" Jonas bluntly stated. "Who knows what day they were born?"

"People used to keep records of that type of information. They were not put into groups of Ones, Twos, or even Twelves."

"Why would they do that? There would be no order! How would people know when they are supposed to get their Assignment?"

"That," the Giver replied, looking up at the clock, "is a question for another day. Oh, we are out of time!"

Jonas left the Annex, deep in thought about birthdays. Perhaps, if he looked up Fiona's date of birth, he could do something special for her.


End file.
